Chapter 429: The Hunchback of Red Stone Village
Seraina’s complaint about boredom was resolved two days later.
It wasn’t that Garrett’s skills had made a significant leap forward. In fact, his ability to communicate with animals had improved from 0.5 seconds to 1 second, then to 1.5 seconds, and finally to 2 seconds, before it stalled completely.
Either the shock to his mind was too great, causing him to be blasted out of his casting state, or under extre fear and pain, his heart rate and blood pressure would skyrocket, leaving him tottering on the brink, again interrupting his spellcasting...
Whether it was magical or physical interference, Garrett’s current ability to communicate with animals was not enough to smoothly continue his research.
Fortunately, after a two-day journey, the elder from the ancient mountains t up with a large group from another village. On the wilderness, with the noise of cattle and horses, and the clattering of wagon wheels, the barbarians talked and laughed loudly, creating a chaotic din. After a long conversation, the ancient mountain elder brought the elder and leader of that village to introduce them to Garrett:
"Garrett, this is the leader of Red Stone Village, White Wolf Wulfgar, and this old fellow, Hunchback Whitfen, is their spellcaster. Hunchback, this is Garrett Nordmark, a servant of the God of Nature, a young and talented healer."
Garrett quickly jumped down from the wagon and greeted them. White Wolf Wulfgar, true to his na, stood tall, carrying a huge sword, draped in a white wolf pelt. The wolf’s mouth was open, with its upper jaw resting above his head and its hind legs barely touching the ground, clearly a massive wolf in life. Its black, hollow eyes stared at Garrett, its teeth bared nacingly.
Garrett only glanced at him before turning to look at the other. Hunchback Whitfen had a pronounced lump on the left side of his back, making one shoulder higher than the other, giving him a slight tilt. Trembling, he leaned on a bone staff. Garrett thought to himself about scoliosis, fibromas, lipomas, hemangiomas...
Despite his internal musings, Garrett maintained an unaffected expression, his gaze steady and composed. The ancient mountain elder, clutching the hunchback’s arm, pointed at Garrett and chattered:
"A few days ago, I fell ill at sea, in agony from stomach pain, and it was he who cured . Not only did he cure , but he also said I had worms in my bile. When we checked, it was true! Then, he discovered that many in our village had worms in their stomachs and devised a treatnt for us all..."
Garrett offered them a smile befitting his age and status. In the Northlands, it was too cold for linen robes; he needed his oak staff. Ah, he quickly pulled out his oak staff, waved it in the air, and it transford into a staff level with his eyebrows, which he placed on the ground. He seldom used this, so it was not easy to rember...
Seeing the five green leaves at the top of the staff, both White Wolf and Hunchback’s expressions ward instantly. Hunchback, leaning on his bone staff with one hand, extended the other to shake hands with Garrett, bending down slightly:
"Mr. Nordmark, it’s an honor to et you! I look forward to your guidance on our journey. My abilities are limited, so if there are any injuries or illnesses in the group, we’ll be relying on your assistance..."
"Not at all, it’s I who should be learning from an experienced elder like you!"
After exchanging pleasantries, the ancient mountain elder cautiously introduced Seraina, ntioning only that she was an elf traveling to the Northlands, accompanying Garrett. After their conversation, the two parties parted ways. Seraina watched them leave, far enough away not to hear their conversation. She suddenly turned and grabbed Garrett:
"Garrett! What’s with the hunchback? Have you seen this before? Can you cure it?"
Her rapid-fire questions ca one after another, barely giving Garrett a chance to respond before the next one followed. Initially, Garrett tried to answer, but eventually, he just closed his mouth, waiting for Seraina to finish, then he sighed slightly:
"...I don’t know."
"How can you not know?!" Seraina exclaid. How could Garrett not know? He had diagnosed the girl impregnated by a ghost and the worms in the barbarian elder’s bile with just a look and a touch!
Her loud voice caught the attention of those around them, even causing White Wolf Wulfgar, who had walked away, to look back. Garrett quickly pulled her back into the wagon and whispered:
"I really don’t know! I haven’t examined him!—Seraina, rember how I always had
to look and cast spells several tis before I knew? With the elder, I only shook hands and spoke a few words, how could I know what’s wrong?"
"Oh... alright." Seraina pouted, disappointed. However, she quickly perked up, leaning towards the wagon’s edge to jump down:
"Then I’ll bring him over for you to examine! Then you’ll know! Garrett! You want to cure him, right?"
"—No, don’t!"
Garrett lunged forward in the wagon, desperately catching her to prevent her from leaving. He lay on the edge of the wagon, stretching his arm as far as he could to hold onto the corner of Seraina’s clothes, pleading urgently:
"If he wants to be cured, he should co by himself! We can’t just drag people over! Don’t go!"
"...Why?"
Seraina relaxed, sitting back in the wagon with a puzzled look, examining Garrett as if she didn’t recognize him:
"Why can’t I bring him over? Garrett, you always help people without complaining..."
"But the patient has to want to be treated." Garrett got up from the edge of the wagon, took a few steps back to make room for her, and sat cross-legged. Seeking treatnt is about asking for it, not for a doctor to brazenly offer: "You’re sick, do you want
to treat you?"
Seeing Seraina still confused, Garrett explained further:
"Seraina, as healers, we offer help, but we never replace their will with ours. Whether they want to be treated, what treatnt to use, and how much to spend, all these decisions must be made by them. It’s their body, and we can’t, nor should we, decide for them."
"But we’re helping them!" Seraina insisted earnestly, a hint of grievance in her tone:
"How can helping soone be wrong?"
Ah, dical ethics, truly hard to explain to an otherworldly silver dragon. Garrett pondered for a mont:
"Let’s say, Seraina, a king is gravely ill and wants to live. There’s no other way to save him except to resort to a Great Wish spell—but the cost of the spell would require selling his family, his children, and his subjects into slavery. Should we forcibly use the Great Wish spell and then demand paynt?"
"Uh..."
"So, in reality, our dical interventions are like this." Garrett lowered his head and drew circles on the wagon floor with a "Mage Trick":
"This circle represents the best dical intervention for this illness," a red circle;
"This circle represents the dical interventions I, as a healer, can provide—I obviously can’t perform high-level healing spells," a yellow circle;
"And this one represents the dical interventions the patient, based on their wishes and capabilities, wants to pursue," a green circle. The three circles overlapped in a small area, which Garrett marked in striking black:
"See, this small part is what we can actually do."
"It’s so complicated..." Seraina slowly lowered her head. Garrett also sighed inwardly: there’s so little doctors can actually do in reality. Sotis, the three circles don’t even intersect!
As a doctor, all he could do was learn and research as much as possible, expanding his capabilities. And then, look up to leaders and researchers in various fields, hoping they could expand the range of treatnts even a little bit more...
The wagon fell silent. Seraina looked at the small intersection of the three circles, feeling blocked and wanting to say more. Suddenly, from far outside the wagon, a loud shout erupted:
"Elder! What’s wrong with you?!—Ancient Mountain Elder! Help!!!"
Garrett abruptly pushed off the wagon’s side and leaped out, darting away without looking back.
"...And you say people should co to us!"
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